Two back to back defeats against West Ham United and Arsenal put Everton on the backfoot despite an encouraging start under new boss Marco Silva. They, however, bounced back against Fulham and clinched a 3-0 win at Goodison Park to climb up a few places in league standings but suffered heartbreak in the shootout against Southampton that saw them being eliminated from the EFL Cup third round tie a couple of days later.
The Toffees, meanwhile, travelled to Leicester this evening to contest the former champions at King Power Stadium and Silva’s men clinched a dramatic win against the ten-man Foxes following an highly-engaging encounter.
Below are the Everton players rated in their 2-1 win against Leicester City.
Jordan Pickford: 6.5
Conceded one in the first half as he could not keep out Ricardo Pereira’s strike at around 40th-minute mark. Made one routine stop to deny Jamie Vardy and was focused in his decision making.
Jonjoe Kenny: 6
Had a tough time against Ben Chilwell who kept on making overlapping runs and crosses inside the box. The youngster, however, had an improved display after the break and managed to deal with the pressure.
Michael Keane: 8
Did exceptionally well to contain Jamie Vardy and used his physicality as well as his aerial ability to keep things tight at the back.
Kurt Zouma: 8
Zouma, too, played with great responsibility and impressed with his no-nonsense defending. Assisted Gylfi Sigurdsson for his second-half winner and maintained composure while protecting the lead.
Lucas Digne: 7.5
Forced Kasper Schmeichel to make a quality stop and kept on combining with brilliant Bernard down the left flank. Could have done better defensively on a few occasions, but it was an impressive outing overall from the ex-Barcelona fullback.
Idrissa Gana Gueye: 6.5
Was expected to do a bit more in the middle of the park as he lost some duels and failed to dominate the midfield game. Had more impact after the break, mostly since the hosts were down to ten-man.
Tom Davies: 7
Had a nervy start but improved immensely with time and kept on contributing high up the pitch along with marshalling the backline. Was replaced by Cenk Tosun midway in the second half.
Theo Walcott: 7.5
Impressed with his wing play and kept on creating chances and testing Schmeichel from the right flank. Should have been more lethal in front of goal but contributed significantly in their win before being replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the closing seconds.
Gylfi Sigurdsson: 8
The Icelandic playmaker had a quiet first half but took centre stage after Wes Morgan’s dismissal. He orchestrated the Toffees’ flow and scored a stunner from 25-yard out to secure all three points.
Bernard: 8.5
The Brazilian has slotted in exceptionally well down the left flank as he kept on troubling Daniel Amartey throughout the evening. Played his part in Richarlison’s opener and was taken off in closing seconds to be replaced by Morgan Schneiderlin.
Richarlison: 7.5
Scored a poacher’s goal in early minutes and troubled the Foxes with his footwork and tricky movements. Forced Morgan to catch him from behind which resulted in a marching order just over the hour mark.
Substitutes
Cenk Tosun: 6
Was introduced after Morgan’s dismissal in search of a winner. The Turkish hitman did not have many touches but kept the Leicester defence on toes with his movements in and around the box.
Morgan Scheniderlin: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
